Number of homes lost in bushfire rises to 49

The number of houses destroyed in this week's devastating bushfires near Coonabarabran has been revised up to 49, as firefighters brace for another wave of heat to hit the area on Friday.

The Rural Fire Service said the number of homes razed when a fire tore through the Warrumbungle National Park on Sunday had risen from an initial estimate of 33 to 49 on Thursday morning, and there was a possibility it could rise further.

"As people are allowed to return to their properties, they're identifying whether their houses have been destroyed," an RFS spokesman said.

"Obviously it's very hard to determine initially between houses and sheds that have been destroyed in a fire."

Prime Minister Julia Gillard is due to visit Coonabarabran on Thursday morning.

The grim news comes as firefighters prepare for more extreme conditions on Friday, with the temperature expected to soar to 39 degrees in Coonabarabran. A change in wind direction is expected to hamper firefighting efforts and potentially expose more properties to the threat of fire.

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Sydney also is expected to swelter, with a forecast top of 38 degrees in the city and 42 degrees in the west on Friday, before cooler conditions for the weekend.

On Thursday morning, the fire in the Warrumbungle National Park was burning in the Bugaldie area, one kilometre south of Bugaldie village and eight kilometres west of Coonabarabran.

More than 200 firefighters are battling the 42,000-hectare fire, the worst in NSW for more than a decade.

"Currently the fire is moving slowly to the east through private property under moderate winds," the RFS said in a statement.

"Firefighters are backburning to strengthen containment lines in the south-eastern part of the fire between Timor Road and Baradine Road. This is to protect isolated properties on the outskirts of Coonabarabran, as well as the Needle Mountain Communication Facility, ahead of deteriorating weather conditions today and into Friday."

By Thursday afternoon, properties in the Bingie Grumble Road and Carrington Lane areas, along with isolated rural properties along Tanabah Road, may be threatened due to increased wind speed and a change in wind direction.

Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Francois Geffroy said north-westerly winds of between 20-30 km/h were forecast in the Coonabarabran area on Friday, before a south south-westerly change was expected to move through the area some time on Saturday morning.

"Temperatures are going to be pretty warm at this point in time across most districts," he said.

Isolated showers and thunderstorms are expected to develop in the west and south of the state, extending to central parts by Friday evening.

Increasing showers are forecast in Coonabarabran throughout the weekend.